Former referee Mark Clattenburg has given his verdict on whether Arsenal should’ve been awarded a penalty against Real Madrid in the Champions League first leg.
The Gunners welcomed Los Blancos to the Emirates Stadium for the first time on Tuesday night in a Champions League clash of epic proportions.
Arsenal started the better of the two teams, causing problems down both flanks for the visitors with plenty of opportunities.
While Thibaut Courtois and his backline were called into action plenty, the home outfit were unable to unlock the away side.
There was, however, a potential penalty on the cards for Arsenal that brought about plenty of questions.
Mark Clattenburg says Arsenal shouldn’t have got a penalty against Real Madrid
In the opening stages of the match, there was a brief pause as Arsenal had a check for a potential penalty against Real Madrid.
The VAR was tasked with looking over a possible handball, with a shot from the Gunners seemingly hitting a Madrid defender in the arm.
The arm wasn’t very outstretched which, for former referee Mark Clattenburg, wasn’t enough to award a penalty.
He said on Amazon Prime Video: “I’ll be amazed if that’s given, the distance is very, very short.
“He isn’t putting his arm out to make himself bigger. We have to remember UEFA have a different criteria to the Premier League on handball.
“They are more strict on the punishment of handball. If the arm is slightly outstretched, UEFA will try to give a penalty, but I don’t agree that this is a penalty kick.”
In the end, referee Irfan Peljto wasn’t called to make any change to his decision, with the game playing on from that point onwards.
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What referee changes are made in the Champions League?
Speaking exclusively to Arsenal Insider, former referee Mark Clattenburg revealed the differences in Champions League refereeing.
Arsenal fans certainly got a glimpse of those, with one of the key ones surrounding officials being more likely to play on rather than blow for fouls.
The Emirates Stadium was left frustrated at times as small challenges seemingly went unpunished, with the fans letting the officials know their annoyance.
The handball rule is punished harder, but that wasn’t something that came into place for that VAR check.
They are all small margins that the side will have to be cautious of though during their clashes.
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